Biography Manuel De Franca

Manuel Joachim de Franca (1808-1865) was the first-born son of a successful wine merchant from the Island of Madeira, Portugal. Sent to Lisbon for his education, he studied art in the school founded by Francisco Goya. In 1826, he joined in the revolt against the Don Miguel government. After government forces suppressed the rebellion, de Franca was imprisoned and sentenced to death, along with many of his fellow liberals. Friends arranged their escape and smuggled them onto a ship to Philadelphia.

The 18-year-old artist spoke little English when he arrived in the United States, but an older artist, Joshua Shaw (c. 1777-1860), befriended him. Shaw was one of the originators of American landscape painting. De Franca also st
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